Adam Peaty leads global stars to Commie Pool

ELSPETH BURNSIDE

England’s Adam Peaty, the world record holder in 50m and 100m breaststroke, will be among swimming’s global stars at the Edinburgh International which begins tomorrow at the Royal Commonwealth Pool.

With the Team GB Olympic trials in Glasgow just over a month away, the three day meet will be a final chance to tweak preparations.

Craig Benson, who qualified for the London Olympics when he was a 17-year-old West Lothian schoolboy, will be among the home stars seeking the final confirmation of form.

Benson, now training with the University of Stirling, will be facing Peaty in the breaststroke and will be joined by two of Scotland’s superstars, Ross Murdoch and Michael Jamieson. Murdoch is the 200m breaststroke Commonwealth Games Champion and Jamieson, now training with this event’s co-sponsors, University of Edinburgh, is hoping to make it to the Rio Olympics this summer and try and add another medal to his silver from 2012.

Hannah Miley, the ever consistent all-rounder, and Robbie Renwick, are the veterans of the Scottish hopefuls. At 26, Miley is aiming for a third successive Olympic Games and is desperate to complete a haul of major medals.

The Inverurie medley specialist has already has been on the podium at Commonwealth Games and the World Championships.

Renwick is also trying to complete a hat-trick of Olympics, and will be one of the mainstays of Team GB’s freestyle relay squads that will have high hopes of a medal in Brazil.

At the other end of the experience spectrum is the University of Stirling’s Duncan Scott. Just 18, he made his Team GB debut at last summer’s World Championships in Kazan in Russia.

In an event also backed by Speedo, the best of UK swimming talent will be on show, including Jazz Carlin and Siobhan Marie O’Connor.

Bringing an international flavour to the event will be Serbian world championship finalist, Caba Siladji and Danish athletes Mei Nielsen, who set a new world backstroke record in 2015, and 2014 European butterfly champion Viktor Bromer.